Change is inevitable.

I think that every Adventist has to go through a time or times of question. Questions like, How do I fit into this church? Is Adventism still relevant? Why am I a part of this movement? Is it even doing anything?

I have seen many of my friends go through these religious identity crises, and while some have decided to stay Adventist, most have either embraced their inner "Bad-Ventist", or simply disconnected from the church altogether. And really, I don't blame them sometimes. In a recent article from Jan Paulsen, the current president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a church is described that is resistant to change. Please read it here:

He says, "I can understand Peter’s awe and bewilderment as he witnessed the glory of the transfigured Christ. “Lord,” he says. “Let’s stay here—let’s build three shelters on the mountaintop, one for You, Elijah, and Moses” (see Matt. 17:1-5). But Christ went back down the mountain and continued His ministry to humanity.

Adventism doesn’t belong on the mountaintop either; it belongs to the communities in which we live and work, with all their untidiness and disorder and change."


Reading the rest of the article, I thought, this is it. My friends gave up on this church because it gave up on them. On Sabbath mornings, they would preach about the mark of the beast, but these friends were craving relevancy to what they were experiencing at the time. Why has the world church feared creativity, community, openness, technology, music, and dance? Our generation, the Millennials, have so much to offer and I was encouraged by this article that someone has noticed.

Read it. Tell me what you think. That's your assignment. Thanks, Alex Bryan for posting it first.